Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-05-05
TURKISH HAREMS.
How One of the Sultan's Dasu-
sells was stolen.

How One OF the Sultan's DAM
sells was stolen.
Among the many harems in Turkey
that of the Sultan at Constantinople is
by far the most important. All these
haroms are built in the same style--that
is, after the. manner Of prison, aud 10
see one is to s@e them all. They are
composed of many low struotured
buildings surrounded by high stone
walls. which effeetually prevent aglimpse
Of the interior and within which
reigus silence profound. This is al
ways matter of surprise to foreiguers,
and it may well be so when we consider
the large number of women confined
there in addition TO the many attached
to the establishment. The women are
watched over by negro eunuchs, govern.
ed by chief and waited upon by negroes
of their own sex, all OF whom
are natives of Egypt. trained
from infancy for this special service.
These negro women are tall and robust,
with an abundance of woolly hair,
broad, flat noses, and black, shining
skin, in marked contrast to the men,
who are peculiarly shaped, their stout.
short bodies and disproporiionately
long legs giving them groteslue APP
pearance. This is the more conspicuous
from the fact that they gener.
ally travel upon small Arab horses,
their feet nearly touching the
ground. Iu the harem, the women
spend their time in comparative idle.
ness, the bath and the toilet filing the
hours not allotted to eating and sleeping.
Some few Of them smoke cigarettes, aud
singing, with harp accom paniment, is
not unusual. Their ipdolent natures
make them averse to exercise, and they
mostly recline upen their divans. In
fine weather they are permitted to take
o drive, a certain number at time. A
halfdozen carriages stop at the haren in
the early afternoon, and are filled with
occupants, four being the complement
of each carriage. They wear very thin
lace wells, which permit any one having
good sight to distinguish their features
even at considerable distance. But
one must be very careful in approaching
too near these yelled beauties.s else he
may receive a stroke from the lash of the
driver. One wonders often why the
women wear such thin lace over their
faces, while the free women of Constanti-
with only small hole for one eye.
The harem carriages are mount
ed upon heavy springs, painted in
heavy vermillion and highly vanished.
They have golden ornaments and are
drawn by Two horses. The driver is a
eunuch, as are also the mounted guards,
one at each door. When the women
visit the great bazars, kind Of market
where all sorts of wares are sold, the
carriages drive up in line before the
entrance, the guards dismount, and,
turning their horses over to the care of
the drivers, accompany the women
through the bazsr.
During the Crimean war small
French army corps was quartered in
Constantinople, placed there to protect
the numerous. hospitals aud to guard
prisoners. One day, when the women
OF the Sultan's household were visiting
the bazar, young army surgeon. taking
advantage of moment when the crowd
was densest, successfully abducted one
of them. He stole with her
through the bazar. crossed the mar
row street, and concealed her
in the European quarter called Pera. 1t
is difficult to conceive how this affair
could have been successfully carried
through, as it is almost impossible to
elude the vigilance of the eunuchs; be.
sides, the principal actors in this es-
capade had never seen each other be.
fore, and neither one could understand
4. y Ias naaa -
not prove that the desire for liberty is
deeply planted in every human soul?
The poor slave Of tho harem leaves
the comforts of the only shelter
she has ever known, and joyfully in
trusts herself to the protection OF a
stranger, so weary is she OF her hated
bonds. Be it said in justice to the
young officer, who was a gallant man
and the possessor of an ample fortune,
that he had but one end in view
namely, to give liberty to this unhappy
woman. One can scarcely imagine
the tumult that ensued when the
eunuchs in charge found that
one of their number had disap-
peared, The Turks cried oui al Tue
sacrilege, the police were quickly sum.
moned and tie bazaar thoroughly
searched, but all to no purpose. The
hour for return to the ssharem having
struck the carriages were obliged 10 start
homeward, Notwithstanding the fact
that in one Of them was vacant seat,
and Judging by the CONSERVATION
depicted upon the faces of the eunuchs
in charge, It was very easy to divine that
a heavy punishment awaited them. AT
niphtfall the regular police were enforced
by q large number of detectives, and
the search was vigorously prosecuted,
while immense rewards were offered
for the discovery Of the unhappy fugi-
tive. At the end OF three days she was
found and brought in triumph back to
the harem, where, according to the
brutal custom, she had to suffer the pen
atty Of q horrible death in the presence
of her former companions. The puns
ment in this case was even more ter
rible than that usually inflicted. The
fact of the young officer being a Christ.
ian operated strongly against her. De-
captation alone was too mild penalty,
and it was commonly reported that the
poor runaway was bound between two
pieces of wood, then sawed through the
middle of the body and thrown into the
sea. II Constantinople letter in Baltimore
American.